No Choice

There is so much wrong with the recent posts making the rounds about kids and choosing church over sports and other things (or not letting it be a choice at all).  Issues include a twisted focus on family in faith, unhealthy parenting, and even some mixed signals regarding child development theory.  The biggest issue though is the focus on church or no church as a CHOICE, or a singular way. 

I have to say that the fear written into the post in question seems to be that of someone who spent most of their life in the modern paradigm and the post-modern transition.  The way the world works is not the same as those time periods and the fear of the author is one that echoes the anxiety of our culture that has yet to come to terms with how the world now works.

So, before we get into how the world works now, let's look at how the term "choice" came to be at the center of this issue.  For the sake of simplicity let's look at life as if it was literature.  In modernity we acted as if we were all in one story, one great novel, where all things were working towards one great end and all we had to do was find our place in the novel and play our part.  The problem is that at some point it became clear that there wasn't just one single ending, and we weren't all really working on that same story.  This is where Post-Modernity stepped in.  Suddenly we were all in choose your own adventure books. The choices we made created a story and once we made a choice we had to play out that story before starting over, or finding out what our ending was.  We were each working on our own story and those who chose like we chose were on the same path to the same ending. 

Of course, you can see where I'm going, can't you?  The thing is that the idea of this bianary choice (this or that) or even other limited in the moment choosing (this, or this, or this, or that), doesn't work when put to the test.  Life isn't about the choices we make.  Yes, they play a part, but the road we take isn't what gets us places, it's the traveling.  So as we travel we create the world we live in, that is the definition of the new paradigm, it is a place of convergence, a relational paradigm where whatever we create relationally defines our world.

That means that it's not about choosing something over something else, and that's hard because that means we have even less control over the outcome than we thought we did.  Yet, God time and again reminds us we're not in control, nor should we try to be.  We live, we interact, we create, we relate, just like a God who does the same things.  The fact is that the world is not a choose your own adventure book for each of us, nor is it a novel where we must find our place, it is an endless sketch book, full of blank pages. Each page we start working on may get finished or it may not, we may come back to it or we may rip it out, but each page we work on influences what we work on later, but there are no rules as to what we are to work on, we each get to create that, with the help of the Spirit of God. 

There is great freedom in this, and even greater faith.  We've treated faith like something akin to anxiety for so long, we've created a world where we compare stats, ask for choices to be made right here and now, and remove all context from everything we do.  Life isn't about this or that, it's about whatever we create and the God within that creation.  We need to stop worrying about the church's place in that creation.  Stop worrying that God can't create in ways we don't understand.  We need to embrace the beauty of a paradigm where a Creative God's image in each of us can come through without fear, without anxiety, without bounderies, but instead filled with the confidence to risk, to fail, to have to rely on grace, manna, and mercy and not on our own "Choice."

Confirmation over 2 Services (with session meeting in middle)

9AM – Bibles

At the 11am service these confirmads will receive stoles that represent their roles people doing the ministry of God. But first, now, we will present them with their bibles. The bible represents each confirmand's role within the ongoing story of God's love, a god who created and cares for all things. As scripture was quoted on the day of Pentecost, we likewise hold scripture close, to be read and re-read, reflected on in times of need, to interpret and reinterpret through honest conversation with community, to follow in discernment. It is true as Paul tells Timothy that:

Congregation: Since childhood you have known the holy scriptures that help you to be wise in a way that leads to salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.

Friends: Chris, Jackson, and Sammy have been baptized and are members of the body of Christ. They have been nurtured within the Christian community and instructed in the belief and practice of the church. They come before us today to be confirmed in faith and affirm their bapism. Remember your baptism and give thanks.

By the waters of baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit God claims us and calls each one by name. God unites us to Christ in his death and resurrection and grafts us into the body of Christ as members of the church. God washes us clean by forgiving our sin; commissions us to be a royal priesthood with Christ in his ministry to the world; empowers us to live in newness of life as people of the Word; and invites us to be renewed at the Lord's Table until we feast with him in glory. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.

Led by our confirmands let us profess our faith together:

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

If we the church affirm these confirmands as essential in their roles within God's story, let us do so using the words that echo those of God as Jesus began his earthly ministry:

Congregation:You are our beloved sons, in whom we are well pleased.

10AM – Statement of Faith

Jackson: We believe in the creator god, who acts as nurse and loving parent to all creation. It is in the image of this god, known as love, that we are each made. Being made in the image of love means following the guidelines of manna and mercy in all we do, making sure each has what they need and treating all with respect and grace.

Chris: We believe that Jesus was this god showing us what it means to live as the image of god, how to live as love, not in fear. Jesus lived like us, fully human, but as a miracle worker showed himself to be fully connected to god. He showed us the path to redemption, how to overcome fear and selfishness even unto death. So, through Jesus we know that a life of love has no end, not even death can contain it.

Sammy: We believe in the spirit who is found in all things, and who is always with each of us, reminding and guiding us as we discern that which god would want from us.

We believe that god, as shown through the life of Jesus, and guided by the spirit wants us to live our lives to the fullest, taking risks without fear, living out love for god as seen in our treatment of others.

We believe in a church made up of diverse people, who find their unity not in uniformity but through compassion and grace shown to one another. In doing so we form a community which seeks to discern and learn ever more about god while sharing in one another's burdens and doing what we can for those who cannot do for themselves.

We believe that we are ever seeking the mysteries of life, but that we wish to do that as people of god, created in god's image, and living out god's life of manna and mercy, justice and grace.

11AM – Stoles

In the 9am service these confirmands received bibles of their choice. These bibles represent their role in the ongoing story of God's love in the world. We now will present them with their stoles. The stole is a symbol of ministry, and as these confirmads have presented their own statement of faith they now are ready to tell their own story and follow in the words that Jesus read in the temple:

Confirmands: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn. You shall be called priests of the Lord, you shall be ministers of our God.

Blessed are you, most gracious God, for you have given to us the gift of baptism. Through water and the Spirit you have claimed us as your own, cleansing us from sin and giving us new life. You called us into your church to be your servants in the world in the name of Jesus Christ. You promised to be present among us, to direct and defend your people by the power of your Spirit. And now we give you thanks, for your faithfulness to us and to these, who come to be confirmed and affirm their part in the covenant of baptism. By the power of your Spirit continue in them the good work you have begun that they may willingly serve you in love and joy with courage and truth.

Along with our confirmands let us confess our faith together:

1: We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects and cares for his Church by his Word and his Spirit.

2: God has done this since the beginning of the world and will continue to do so to the end.

1: We believe in one holy, universal Christian Church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family.

2: We believe that Christ's work of reconciliation is made manifest in the Church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another.

1: We share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind.

2: We have one God and Father, are filled with one Spirit, are baptised with one baptism, eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one Name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope.

1: Together we come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ.

2: Together we are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity.

1: Together we acknowledge and bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ.

2: We need one another.

1: We need to build one another up, admonishing and comforting one another.

2: We also suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness.

1: We pray together.

2: We serve God together in this world.

1: Together we fight against all which may threaten or hinder our unity.

2. Our unity appears as we obey Christ's call to give ourselves willingly and joyfully to one another for mutual benefit and blessing.

ALL: For Jesus Alone is Lord. To the one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be the honour and the glory for ever and ever.

If we as the church now affirm these confirmands as they go forth to meet God and join in the work of God let us do so with words that echo those God met Jesus with at the beginning of his ministry:

Congregation: You are our Beloved Sons, in whom we are well pleased.

Let us pray that those affirming their baptism may go into the world, giving witness to God's love and grace.

Silence.

Let us pray that, Chris, Jackson, and Sammy may know the peace of Christ in times of trouble, doubt and sorrow.

Silence.

Let us pray that they, with all of us, may remember our need to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Silence.

Let us pray that we may grow together in the knowledge and understanding of God's Word.

Silence.

Femininity

A friend of mine is doing a research project on femininity and asked for stories, the following is mine:

When I was 5 years old, someone stole my hat on the playground, and a girl named Ethel Lucas punched the boy for me because I said I didn't believe in violence. The jokes about her having a crush on me and my own masculinity in many ways would be the inception of how I would identify myself and understand others throughout my life. I have never had close male friends or mentors, I have found my life surrounded by femininity and have found myself at home with my own.

I was born male, and in a lot of ways I fit that stereotype (athletics, slack clothing, hairy, etc.), but more often than not even my wife would say I am feminine. One friend even once used me when trying to explain the complexities of gender, sexuality, and relationships by saying “He's a lesbian feminine male.” I don't know if I'd go that far, but in spending a life with females has certainly impacted my world view.

There are great things that come with femininity (and I'm not talking nail polish, skirts, hair chalk, or heels – though I love those things). I love how the women of my life are able to be both strong and beautiful. I love how the feminine allows for claiming self identity. I love how femininity cannot be simply defined as it seems masculinity can be. I could go on and on, but I feel this space is best spent talking about some of the women who inspire me. There are three kinds of women who have influenced me most:

My mentors, Dr. RP, Colleen, Linda, Dorothy, Kat, and others are people who helped pave a path that has allowed me to do the things I do, and be the person I am. They all epitomize femininity, both because of how they carry themselves and because they can speak to the experiences of being a woman in a way that anyone can understand. They are those who will put me in my privileged place, reminding me how my feminine side may get me strange looks, and occasionally bad service, but that I'm still able to do things in ways that they aren't free to do.

My friends, “Sis” Michelle, Tot, Ethel, Anne, and others are those who have allowed me other the years to be feminine without questions. They are the ones who never (as far as I know) felt like I was around them as anything but a friend. They didn't treat me as a threat but rather let me join in the fun of painting nails, prom dress shopping, sleepovers, and other girly things. Without them, I would probably still be trying to be “manly” and wondering why I hated having to do things the way guys were doing them.

The third group of women who influence me are “My Girls.” “My Girls” are what I call the girls I work with, either through volleyball, musicals, or at church. Many of them are still minors, so I wont put their names in this, but they change me on a daily basis, they refuse to be defined by others or by the actions of others. The stories they tell me of things that have happened to them already in their young lives alone are reasons we should all be feminists, but how they maintain an elegance through their strength and their willingness to be weak with one another is inspirational. I remember when two of my girls were going to get married and one of their fathers had to quit his job for this to happen. The pain on her face when she told me was clear as day, but her dad came up and told her that he was not going to let anyone else define him and that he had learned that from watching her grow up. That is the core of femininity, it is the ability to be put together, beautiful, inspirational, all while being weak enough to ask for help.

I have been fortunate to not be locked into gender roles, girls like Ethel Lucas beating a boy up, Heather Sullivan pinning me up against a wall, Mini-me stepping in and doing my job as well as I ever could even though she was just 15, Brooke and Alex challenging the status quo and not taking no for an answer, Irene and Nat struggling with sexuality and taking the risk to ask the team to support them, Dr. R-P making choices that others would question but she knew were right for her, Nancy and Natalie being honest and raw about their experiences and letting others in while also saying No More and becoming voices that changed me and the world around them, Kat ever having fun while also standing for the equality of all even when it comes to being able to have fun, Michelle struggling through loss and faith along with me as two only children who became siblings, Anne never letting me go as friend even after I hurt her, Tot withstanding rumors to be my friend, Linda never taking no for an answer, Emma reminding everyone she was “a kid” when we all looked at her as an adult, Dorthy being the example of what a minister should be, Case dumping her date for me and then making me say I was sorry, Syd and Kris being willing to work to become what I saw in them but eventually choosing where their own limits were, and many others have defined the world for me. Just by being around these women, I have found the strength to wear nail polish to church, to stand beside them, and more than that behind them in the struggles that they are passionate about.

The thing is that I never heard things in gendered tones growing up. I know they were said, and I'm sure there were people then and still are people who see me with my hair, painted nails, all female friends, ability to walk in heels, focus on issues of equality, and the ilk and make judgments about my gender roles or sexuality. Yet, it has always been just me being me, I'm the guy who had a girl (or 3 or 4 over time) fight his fights as a kid, who often hates his gender, who never really understood (due to asperger's syndrome and experience in part I'm sure) why any of it mattered. Of course, now due to all the women listed above and many many more I know it does matter, because for most being seen as feminine has contentions of weakness, of others expectations, of objectification, and of all types of inequality. Feminine may not be any of that to me, but until it isn't any of that to anyone, it's all the more important to claim it and work to change the world's view on it.

10 Commandments

In an effort to both talk about God's law and biblical interpretation, the 10 commandments were taken to their logical inverse and then back.  Here is the "final" interpretation:
1. Place the purpose of the creator above all else
2. Do not limit who God is or what God does
3. God can only be used for love and to build up
4. Honor God and care for Self
5. Pay attention to those who care about you
6. Don't Kill Anyone PERIOD
7. Think about others first
8. Give freely
9. Love and Care for others according to their needs/desires
10. Be who you were created to be, not anyone else.

I think maybe I'll try to live by them a bit. :)

Blessing for Supply Pastor Leaving

From Psalm 145: The Lord is loving to everyone; God's compassion is over all God's works. All your works praise you, O Lord, and your faithful servants bless you. We thank you God for your goodness and loving kindness as seen through Clark's time with us here at HVPC. Through our partnership, for the Spirit that has empowered us to witness and we give you praise. Praise for the the Good News Clark has proclaimed through his leadership, care and support. We now send him forth with our blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace both this day and forever. Amen and Godspeed.

Ash Wednesday Prayer Stations:

Lint or Lent?

When you hear the word lent what comes to mind?

Many people don’t know the difference…LINT OR LENT?

Is it something in your belly button or your dryer?

What about a season of the church year designed to bring you closer to Jesus?

Use this lint brush as a prayer of confession…

God removes the “lint, -

The junk that is stuck to us…

The sin that so easily entangles us…

As you roll the lint brush over your clothes talk to God about the Lint, the junk, in your life you need him to remove.

Ask God to show you any lint that is blocking your relationship with him as you roll the lint brush on your shirt/ jeans, picture the junk being removed.

And know that God loves you and forgives you.

Locked Away

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.”

(Isaiah 61:1)

Moments after the very beginning, we locked ourselves away. We were not fooled or tricked, no one pushed us in and slammed the door behind us, nor were we forced. By our own accord we entered the cell, locked the bars and threw the keys far beyond our own reach. In search of what we thought was freedom, we entered captivity. Another day, another lock, as hope and life slip away together and we realize that under our own strength there is no possibility of escape.

Write down your personal burdens on a slip of paper and place your that paper into a jar with others and close it back off, a reminder of how we keep these things locked away, but also a reminder that we are one among many, in a community able to share our burdens

A Desert Place

As you begin your Lenten journey, wash your hands in the bowl of sand as an act of repentance.  This is a reminder of the wilderness where Jesus spent his forty days of fasting and prayer.

Talk to God about where you are and where you want to be in the next few weeks before Easter.

Now wash your hands in the bowl of water and allow God to refresh you and allow the Living Water to encourage you as you journey with Jesus during the days before Easter.

YOU ARE CLEAN…YOU ARE LOVED…YOU ARE FORGIVEN

Letting Go
Take a Nail and write on it your initials or name.
Consider the things that you have done that may have hurt God or others over the past year. 
Place the nail into the loaf of bread as a reminder of these things, but also be at peace, for Jesus himself has already said “It Is Finished” 
Repent, Turn Away, Let Go, and Be at Peace in God’s Grace.

Words of Lent

We are called to bring Christ to all the world. Think about words that describe how you can bring the things of God to the world and add them to the puzzle, If you can't find a place your words will fit, start a new puzzle, and see if someone later can make a connection between them.

Read over the puzzles before you leave and pray over the things that we as a community hope for.

Light of the World

Jesus knew what it was like to be an outcast, to be at risk, to be an outsider, to struggle in a world where powers rage. These struggles are all over the world. Take a sticker and place it on the map in a place where you know people need peace and prayer.

Offer prayers for all the places and people of the world.

Ash Wednesday Service

WELCOME/INVITATION TO A HOLY LENT

Leader: Peace be with you.

People: And also with you.

From our book of common worship:

Friends in Christ, every year at the time of the Christian Passover we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.

OPENING PRAYER

Almighty and merciful God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all who are desire it; create in us new and humble hearts, so that when we turn to you we may receive your full and perfect forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.                  

TIME OF REFLECTIVE SILENCE (with selections from Joel 2) **Spoken by unseen voice**

(Silence)

Joel 2:1

(Silence)

Joel 2:12-13

(Silence)

Joel 2:15-16

(Silence)

Joel 2:17

LITANY OF CONFESSION

Leader: We have not loved you with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven. Lord have mercy.
People: Lord have mercy.

Leader: We have been deaf to your call to serve. We have been unfaithful, proud, and hypocritical. Christ have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.

Leader: We have been self-centered, and have taken advantage of others. Lord have mercy.
People: Lord have mercy.

Leader: We have been envious of those more fortunate than ourselves. Christ have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.

Leader: We have loved worldly goods and comforts too much. We have been dishonest in daily life and work. Lord have mercy.
People: Lord have mercy.

Leader: We have neglected prayer and worship, and have failed to commend the faith that is in us. Christ have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.

Leader: We have been blind to human need and suffering, and indifferent to injustice and cruelty. Lord have mercy.
People: Lord have mercy.

Leader: We have thought uncharitably about others, and we have been prejudiced towards those who differ from us. Christ have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.

Leader: We have wasted and polluted your creation, and lacked concern for those who come after us. Lord have mercy.
People: Lord have mercy.

ALL: Merciful God, we have sinned in what we have thought and said, in the wrong we have done and in the good we have not done. Our sin is found in ignorance, in weakness, in our own deliberate fault. We are filled with sorrow so we repent and turn to you. Forgive us and renew our call to work for the glory of your grace. Amen.  

NOTHING CAN TROUBLE (Hymn 820, Acapella)

IMPOSITION OF ASHES

Loving God, you create us from the dust of the earth; may these ashes be for us a sign of our penitence and our mortality, and a reminder that our life is lived eternally only in living for Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Please come forward and receive the ashes.

Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

LITANY OF ASSURANCE AND SIGNS OF GRACE

Leader: In our deepest darkness, God beckons us, calling us to peace, to quietness, to wholeness.

People: The world around us is filled with coldness, fear and restlessness.

Leader: It is of our creation, via greed, hatred, envy, all things broken and selfish.

People: Take us and heal us of every evil. Bring us back into the closeness of your embrace, O God.

Leader: Your cleansing love, O God, purifies, restores us with warmth and rest

People: In our night we hear God call, offering love and strength and forgiveness.

Leader: With God we need not fear, hate, nor control. Let us walk in the light of God.

ALL: Amen.

REMEMBERENCE OF BAPTISM

The grace of god that overcomes all things and is symbolized in our baptism.  So you are now invited to come forward and remember your baptism and receive the water of grace.

Repent and believe the Good News: God is making all things whole.

LITANY OF FAITH

Leader: The end is God’s and the beginning is God’s.

People: The storm is God’s and the peace is God’s.

Leader: The depths are God’s and the heights are God’s.

People: The dark is God’s and the light is God’s.

Leader: For all times, all things and all creation belong to God.

People: Travel with God towards the end from the beginning.

Leader: Walk with the God who is your salvation.

People: Continue with God through the storm and the peace.

Leader: Walk with the God who is your deliverance.

People: Wander with God across the depths and the heights.

Leader: Walk with the God who is your restoration.

People: Tarry with God in the dark and the light.

Leader: Walk with the God who is your assurance;

People: For all times, all things and all creation belong to God.

ALL: Amen.

BENEDICTION

Go with God’s grace, in the name of Christ, with the power of the spirit to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.